Words With God

For those of you who know me in person, you probably have seen what I received from my family for my birthday on July 11th: an iPhone 4. I have now become one of those many Apple fans who think that Apple products are the best. I really don’t think I could return to any other type of phone after experiencing the fun and usefulness of this one. Let’s just hope I don’t drop it and have to make that decision!

Anyway, I digress from the main point of today’s blog. With this new technology in my hands, I am now fully engaged on the phone in the game of “Words with Friends,” otherwise known as Scrabble. There are five of us in our immediate family who play it constantly; the sixth and final abstainer knows who he is! The fun of this game is that it allows you to keep trying new letter combinations until you find one that is actually a word, even those that you never knew existed before. For instance, trial and error brought me to the word ‘Qi,’ which the dictionary defines as the “...circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine.” I’m not sure what that really means, but I do use this word very often now to rack up points! Another new-found gem is ‘jun,’ which is a monetary unit of North Korea. Another beauty that I stumbled across was “jarl,” a Norse or Danish chief.

In the real world of difficult trials and spiritual opportunities, though, unusual and strange words don’t win you any extra points. In life, it is better to understand something about the words you use.

Here’s a word that can help you if you are able to know and accept what it means: Faith.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Here is what my ESV Study Guide says about the way the word “faith” is used in this verse:

“By defining faith as ‘assurance’ and ‘conviction,’ the author indicates that biblical faith is not a vague hope grounded in imaginary, wishful thinking. Instead, faith is a settled confidence that something in the future - something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God - will actually come to pass because God will bring it about. Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable ‘leap in the dark;’ rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy - the God who has revealed himself in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ, whose promises have proven true from generation to generation, and who will ‘never leave nor forsake’ his own.”

Do you have this kind of faith? Real faith can radically shape a person’s life and eternal destiny. It is solid and sure, an “assurance” and a “conviction,” since it is based on promises that will definitely come to pass. Thankfully, God is not just playing games with us. One day we will see with our eyes all that He has for us. Until then, we do well to live by faith.